Christian Lander: Stuff White People Like

Do you have an idea for a quirky, visual, silly book? Take my advice: Rather than pitching it to various publications, which is more or less a shot in the dark anyway, start a blog. Should that blog become popular, that book deal and tour will be just one contract away. Even if you never had a book pitch set up, if you run a popular blog, you will someday have a book deal. Stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com started out as an inside joke between two friends. Forty-three millions hits later, it is now an internet phenomenon, book, and inside joke shared with millions who surf the web. So what do white people like? Things like "irony," "hating corporations," and "Michel Gondry" seem to be more appropriately described as "stuff hipsters like." Others, like "New Balance Shoes," "sea salt," and "sweaters" strike me as stuff suburbanites like. And who doesn't like "coffee," "dogs," and "music piracy?" Regardless of whether you agree, a 15-minute glance at the book or website will probably elicit at least one chuckle.
Mon., Jan. 26, 4 p.m., 2009